jetjockey696
20th Oct 2011, 17:06
A day after Singapore Airlines (SIA) and its pilots settled a long-standing dispute over the annual service increment, another battle has surfaced.
SIA and SilkAir pilots are asking for their flying allowance to be paid based on the actual number of duty hours.
Under the current system, they are paid an hourly rate for the period from flight departure to arrival.
The Air Line Pilots Association (Singapore), Alpa-S, is proposing that the flying allowance be calculated from the time a pilot reports to the flight operations centre until he ends his shift.
Alpa-S president Captain P. James told The Straits Times: 'This is a more equitable system. The allowance should be based on total duty hours, which include pre-flight and post-flight duty.'
The system proposed by the pilots also takes into account delays that may occur for weather-related or other reasons, he said. To make it cost-neutral for the airline, the pilots are prepared to accept a lower rate, Capt James said.
Negotiations are ongoing between the two carriers and their respective union branches.
SilkAir pilots started the ball rolling in December 2009, when they began discussions with the airline on a new collective agreement to fix pay and other benefits for three years from April 2010.
The agreement was inked, but with the flying allowance issue unresolved.
SilkAir had proposed an hourly rate of about $46 for flying hours, but the pilots rejected this with a counter-proposal of about $30, to be paid for the entire duration of a pilot's duty hours.
The sides could not come to an agreement and the matter has been referred to the Industrial Arbitration Court (IAC), which will hear the case tomorrow.
Captain Ajmer Singh, chairman of the SilkAir branch of Alpa-S, said: 'Fundamentally, this is not about money. We essentially disagree with the airline on what should constitute working hours.'
A Straits Times check found that different airlines compute the flying allowance differently, but a common practice is to pay pilots a guaranteed amount, which could for example be set at 65 or 70 hours a month. It does not matter if the pilot does not fly the stipulated hours.
A spokesman for SilkAir, which has 170 pilots, said it would be inappropriate for the airline to comment on the matter since it is now before the court.
Alpa-S represents over 90 per cent of the SIA Group's pool of more than 2,000 pilots, including those from SilkAir and the airline's cargo arm, SIA Cargo.
The disagreement over the flying allowance comes hot on the heels of the just-settled dispute between SIA and its pilots over the annual service increment.
After a 22-month impasse, both sides said on Tuesday that they had come to an agreement on the amount of annual service increment to be paid to pilots for last year and this year.
SIA and its pilots have a long history of industrial disputes. Relations hit rock bottom in 2003, when the travel slump caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) led the airline to cut wages, and unhappy Alpa-S members decided to oust their union leaders.
Since then, both sides have disagreed about several issues, including pay for Airbus 380 pilots when SIA first started flying the aircraft in 2007.
Capt James said: 'Ideally, we would like to resolve whatever disagreements we have with the company among ourselves, and as early as possible. When issues cannot be resolved, turning to the Manpower Ministry and the IAC are established processes that ensure industry harmony without affecting the company's operations.'
Reprinted courtesy of Straits Times Indonesia.
SIA and SilkAir pilots are asking for their flying allowance to be paid based on the actual number of duty hours.
Under the current system, they are paid an hourly rate for the period from flight departure to arrival.
The Air Line Pilots Association (Singapore), Alpa-S, is proposing that the flying allowance be calculated from the time a pilot reports to the flight operations centre until he ends his shift.
Alpa-S president Captain P. James told The Straits Times: 'This is a more equitable system. The allowance should be based on total duty hours, which include pre-flight and post-flight duty.'
The system proposed by the pilots also takes into account delays that may occur for weather-related or other reasons, he said. To make it cost-neutral for the airline, the pilots are prepared to accept a lower rate, Capt James said.
Negotiations are ongoing between the two carriers and their respective union branches.
SilkAir pilots started the ball rolling in December 2009, when they began discussions with the airline on a new collective agreement to fix pay and other benefits for three years from April 2010.
The agreement was inked, but with the flying allowance issue unresolved.
SilkAir had proposed an hourly rate of about $46 for flying hours, but the pilots rejected this with a counter-proposal of about $30, to be paid for the entire duration of a pilot's duty hours.
The sides could not come to an agreement and the matter has been referred to the Industrial Arbitration Court (IAC), which will hear the case tomorrow.
Captain Ajmer Singh, chairman of the SilkAir branch of Alpa-S, said: 'Fundamentally, this is not about money. We essentially disagree with the airline on what should constitute working hours.'
A Straits Times check found that different airlines compute the flying allowance differently, but a common practice is to pay pilots a guaranteed amount, which could for example be set at 65 or 70 hours a month. It does not matter if the pilot does not fly the stipulated hours.
A spokesman for SilkAir, which has 170 pilots, said it would be inappropriate for the airline to comment on the matter since it is now before the court.
Alpa-S represents over 90 per cent of the SIA Group's pool of more than 2,000 pilots, including those from SilkAir and the airline's cargo arm, SIA Cargo.
The disagreement over the flying allowance comes hot on the heels of the just-settled dispute between SIA and its pilots over the annual service increment.
After a 22-month impasse, both sides said on Tuesday that they had come to an agreement on the amount of annual service increment to be paid to pilots for last year and this year.
SIA and its pilots have a long history of industrial disputes. Relations hit rock bottom in 2003, when the travel slump caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) led the airline to cut wages, and unhappy Alpa-S members decided to oust their union leaders.
Since then, both sides have disagreed about several issues, including pay for Airbus 380 pilots when SIA first started flying the aircraft in 2007.
Capt James said: 'Ideally, we would like to resolve whatever disagreements we have with the company among ourselves, and as early as possible. When issues cannot be resolved, turning to the Manpower Ministry and the IAC are established processes that ensure industry harmony without affecting the company's operations.'
Reprinted courtesy of Straits Times Indonesia.